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The Breakfast Buffet: Ohio State had an “appetite for change”, Steven Ashworth, UCLA

Here’s today’s installment of “The Breakfast Buffet”, a daily column that can be found here every single morning getting you caught up to date on everything that’s happened from the day/night before and everything that’s going to happen in the next 24 hours.

Mangia!

Things To Sample

Ohio State had an “appetite for change” when it came to Chris Holtmann
It’s almost the same thing that happened seven years ago when the Buckeyes parted ways with Thad Matta in 2017, when Matta was fired after winning fewer than 20 games for the first time in his tenure. Holtmann did a very good job at Ohio State, but he never advanced far enough in the NCAA Tournament to build up real equity in Columbus. The 52-year old head coach — who was fired on Wednesday — led the Buckeyes to March Madness from 2018-22 and was 21-10 prior to the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament due to COVID. Holtmann never got to the Sweet 16 as Ohio State’s head coach and in 2021, the Buckeyes were a two seed before losing in the first round of March Madness to Oral Roberts. The momentum in the program was never the same following that game and Holtmann was only a combined 30-30 in the past two years, which ultimately led to the school’s desire to go in a different direction on Wednesday. His successor will have to deal with a completely different Big Ten as the conference is set to add Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington later this year for the 2024-25 season.

Steven Ashworth has solidified himself as Creighton’s fourth option
The Bluejays have three all-conference caliber players in Trey Alexander, Baylor Scheierman, and Ryan Kalkbrenner, but Ashworth has recently taken his game to another level. After struggling to find a consistent rhythm early in the season, the 6-1 veteran has settled into his role. In his last five games, Ashworth — who played last season at Utah State — is averaging 17.4 points, five assists, and 3.8 rebounds. He’s also shooting 47.6 percent from three-point range during that span. This is the player that Greg McDermott thought he was getting last spring out of the transfer portal. Creighton isn’t receiving the same attention at the top of the Big East as UConn and Marquette, but this team is still plenty capable of again advancing deep into March Madness.

UCLA starts a key home stretch
After losing by 46 points at Utah on Jan. 11th, the Bruins have since won seven of their last eight games with the only loss coming at Arizona. To no one’s surprise, Mick Cronin has molded this inexperienced group into the Pac-12’s best defensive team as UCLA is only allowing an average of 62 points during its current five-game winning streak. Are the Bruins capable of making the same improvement in the next five weeks as they’ve made in the past five weeks? We’ll have a better idea after its two games this week against Colorado and Utah, two bubble teams who desperately need wins in order to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. UCLA will also host USC next week at Pauley Pavilion.

On The Side

  • North Carolina is allowing an average of 79.5 points in its last five games. The Tar Heels are just 2-3 during that span.
  • Is Justin Edwards turning a corner for Kentucky? The five-star freshman is averaging 12.3 points in his last three games after failing to reach double figures in the previous nine outings. Remember: The 6-8 Edwards was the top prospect on the Wildcats’ roster entering this season.
  • Iowa State has not won an outright Big 12 regular season title since 2001. The Cyclones are currently tied with Houston for first place in the conference.
  • Providence is 44-5 over the past three seasons at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
  • Four of New Mexico’s final six regular season games — San Diego State (road), Colorado State (home), Boise State (road), and Utah State (road) — will be Quad 1 opportunities as of today.

Daily Specials

  • Northwestern at Rutgers
  • Minnesota at Purdue
  • Colorado at UCLA
  • Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount
  • Utah at USC

Leftovers